Desert Radiance
by Starburst357
Summary: Akurui is a young Sand Village medical ninja. She, Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari are sent on a mission to help out some Leaf Ninja. What will happen when a certain villain complicates things?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: This story is going to be told in my OC's first person POV, but will occasionally go to third person with some of the original characters. I** **hope** **you** **enjoy!**

I woke up in the middle of the night. I have the unusual ability to tell when someone's in pain, part of the reason why I joined the Sand Ninja Medical Corps. I got out of bed, put my shoes on, and walked out the door.

My feet automatically took me towards the water tower. It was a small, wooden shell filled with water on a hill just outside of the village. On good nights, it was also Gaara's favorite sleeping place.

As I neared the tower, I could see a small figure stretched out on the ground. It was Gaara.

"Gaara?" I whispered. "Are you okay?"

His head turned to look at me. He had tear trails running down his face, and as I watched, another spasm of pain shot through his body.

I ran over to his side and kneeled down. He was trembling.

"Shhh. It's okay," I whispered to him. I brushed some of the bright red hair away from his brow. I tried using some of my medical jutsu, but I knew it wouldn't do much. There are some things that can only be healed with time.

I clasped his hands with mine. "Would you like me to stay here tonight?" I asked. I hated seeing anyone in so much pain.

Gaara nodded.

That morning, I awoke to sunlight streaming down on the sand. Gaara was already awake. He was sitting next to me, watching the sunrise.

"Good morning," I said. I frowned. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yes. I'm fine," Gaara replied. He sighed. "Thank you for being there last night."

"I couldn't leave you alone, could I?" I said. "No if I knew something was wrong."

"How did you know?" Gaara asked, "Could you feel it again?"

"Yeah."

We stayed like that, just watching the sunrise together.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple hours later, we walked back into town. It was a normal day in the Sand Village. People bustled around, and merchants were shouting out offers to the passerby.

Temari and Kankuro came running up to us.

"Finally," Kankaro gasped, out of breath. "We've been looking all over for you!"

"The Kazekage has assigned the four of us a mission," Temari informed us.

"What kind of mission?" I asked.

"We've go to go help out the Leaf Village brats. Again." Kankuro answered.

"Where are we going?" Gaara asked.

"To the jungle just outside of our border. Apparently they were hired to get rid of some kind of monster and underestimated the mission. They need a few more hands to help get rid of it, and we're the closest." Temari answered.

"What kind of monster is it?" I asked.

"I dunno. I heard it was poisonous, but that's about it," Kankuro said. "Why?"

I was already running to my house. "I'll meet you at the gate!" I called over my shoulder.

I stood facing my medicinal cabinet in my house. Most of them Ihad made with herbs from my garden.

"Mint, Thyme, Marygold," I muttered to myself. "What else will we need?"

I heard footsteps behind me. I whirled around to see Temari standing in my kitchen.

"You were taking awhile, so I came to see if you need help," she said.

"Nope. I'm just about done here," I told her. I put the last few jars in my bag and zipped it up.

"Let's go then."

**Thanks to Kairi-tenshii-x for following and favoriting! :) That was definitely the fastest I've ever gotten a favorite. Please don't forget to check out my other stories and my poll!**


	3. Chapter 3

My team and I glided through the trees. We had just left the desert behind. I glanced back longingly, already missing the bright sunlight and open spaces.

"We'll be reaching the approximate area of the Leaf ninja soon," Temari informed us. Just then, I heard a loud "Rooooaaarrr!".

"I think we're here," I commented.

The dense forest opened up into a huge ravine. Inside the clearing were four ninja, fighting what looked like a dinosaur. It had a huge head, with big teeth and poisonous looking goo oozing out. It had sharp front claws and spikes on its tail with the same green goo on them.

"It looks like they need help right now," Kankuro said. "Let's go."

We sprinted down the ravine. As we neared the battle, I could see the ninja better. One had spiky blonde hair and an orange jacket and pants, another black hair in a high ponytail with a green outfit. The third had raven hair and a navy shirt. The last had long black hair in a low ponytail, with a tan shirt. All four ninja had Leaf Village headbands. I'd never met Leaf ninja before. I didn't take part in the Chunin exams or the attack on their village because of my medical training.

"Well, Shikamaru. Long time no see!" Temari yelled over to the ninja with the high ponytail.

"Ditto," he called back.

"This isn't exactly the time for greetings!" I said as I dodged on of the monster's poisonous claws.

"We need to fall back and think up a strategy," the ninja with the low ponytail said.

"Alright. Everybody run!" Kankuro shouted. We all turned on our heels and sprinted up the ravine. The monster let out an ear-splitting roar, but didn't try to chase us. It probably thought we had given up.

"Okay, quick introductions," Temari said to me. "Everyone, this is Akarui. Akarui, this is Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Negi."

She pointed in turn to the blonde ninja, raven ninja, high ponytail ninja, and low ponytail ninja. I nodded hello to them.

"Alright, we need a game plan," Shikamaru said. "Any ideas?"

"You're the strategist here," Naruto grumbled.

"I know, but so far what we've tried hasn't worked. Do you Sand ninja have any tricks up you sleeve?" Shikamaru asked.

"I could use my genjutsu..." I said.

"It'll have to be really powerful to get to that big thing. Are you sure you're up to it?" Temari asked.

I nodded. "I'll need some help though. Gaara, could you hold him down with your sand?" Gaara nodded.

"I could use my shadow clones to help," Naruto said.

"And I've got my shadow possession jutsu," Shikamaru added.

"But what do we do after that? How are we going to kill him?" Sasuke asked.

"Have you tried going through his eye?" I asked. "Most animals are weak there."

"If we got him to hold still enough, I could probably use my puppet to stab him," Kakuro volunteered.

"Sasuke, Negi, and I could distract him while Naruto, Akarui, Shikamaru, and Gaara sneak up and trap him. Then Kankuro's puppet can finish it," Temari said.

"Sounds good," Sasuke said.

**Author's Note: Don't forget to check out my other stories and my poll!**


	4. Chapter 4

I watched from the bushes as the first wave, led by Temari, attacked the monster. It roared in surprise as Temari's wind cut into its scales. A few seconds later, it was my team's turn.

Shikamaru led us behind the monster. We slowly snuck up to its back. Shikamaru held up three fingers. Three. Two. One!

We all struck at the same time, quickly insnaring the monster. I closed my eyes as I entered into the monster's mind with my genjutsu.

I created a peaceful meadow, filled with flowers. The landscape enticed the monster to just give up and relax.

I saw the monster sway on his feet. He seemed to be giving in.

Suddenly, the monster broke free. I lost control of my genjutsu and was thrown back into the real world. I blinked my eyes open and saw the monster glaring at me from only a few feet away. Shikamaru seemed to be losing his shadow possession jutsu, and even Gaara's sand was beginning to loose its grip.

I stood, frozen in fear, as the monster stared at me. It lunged at me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, sure I was dead. When nothing happened, I opened my eyes to see a shell of sand surrounding me. Gaara.

Then shell dissolved and I was back in the battle. "Thanks!" I shouted to Gaara.

Now what should I do? Genjutsu, kunai knives, and throwing stars are my only battle strengths, and none of them seem to be very effective.

I scanned the area. Temari was still sending gusts of wind at the monster, but I could tell that she was about out of chakra. Sasuke and Negi were fighting side by side. Sasuke was using some kind of fire ninjutsu, and Negi was using his keke genki.

I could see Gaara still fighting the monster with his sand, while Naruto flew at the monster with his clones. Kankuro tried to get close to its eyes with his puppet.

But where was Shikamaru?

**Special thanks to Sodapoprocks for favoriting! I hope you're all enjoying my story so far. In a few chapters it get really exciting. **

**Don't forget to check out my other stories and my poll!**


	5. Chapter 5

I scanned the scene again. Had I missed Shikamaru? Then I spotted him. He was behind the monster, separated from the rest of the team. He was still trying to keep up his shadow possession jutsu.

As I watched, the monster noticed Shikamaru. It whirled around, raised a massive claw, and swiped Shikamaru across the clearing. He didn't get up.

"Shika!" Temari shouted. I was already sprinting across the ravine to him. "Keep fighting!" I called to Temari. "I've got him!"

I ran up to Shikamaru's side. He had a huge gash across his stomach, and a pool of blood was forming around him. He was still conscious, but barely.

I kicked into medical ninja mode. First things first: stop the bleeding. I pulled his shirt over his head and tied it around the gash.

Shikamaru groaned in pain as blood quickly soaked through his shirt.

I did a few quick hand signs and held my palms above the wound as blue chakra emitted from my hands. I was performing a quick scan of the cut.

Shikamaru's wound was fairly deep, but could be healed with the supplies I had. I relaxed, knowing that I could heal him. But before I shut my jutsu off, I sensed something. I concentrated. Something was there, all right.

My face paled almost as much as Shikamaru's. There was poison in the cut.

_It's_ _okay_, I told myself. I took a deep breath. _You can handle it._

I took my backpack off and took out my herbs. I quickly concocted a standard antidote. Hopefully it would hold him over until I had time to examine the poison and come up with a more specific cure.

I needed to get Shikamaru out of there. If the monster decided to attack, I wouldn't have the time or strength to move him.

"Gaara!" I called over to him. I didn't like distracting him in battle, but this was urgent. "I need to get Shikamaru into the trees!"

Gaara nodded. He sent some of his sand over. It gently picked Shikamaru up and carried him to the trees. Once underneath the forest canopy, the sand put him down and rushed back into battle.

Shikamaru was already unconscious from pain and blood loss. His wound had stopped bleeding for the most part, but the poison was still a big problem.

First, I needed a sample of the poison. The only way to get that was to collect it straight from the spikes on the monster's tail. I stood up and ran back down the ravine.

Getting my hands on some of the poison was going to be tricky. The monster's tail was constantly waving around, knocking down trees and putting craters in the ground.

"Kankuro!" I shouted. "Cover for me, will you?"

"Got it!" he yelled back.

With that, I charged straight at the tail. I grabbed onto the scales and slid one of my jars across a spike. I then leapt away from the monster's tail and sprinted back up the ravine.

I sat down by Shikamaru's side and began my work. I broke the poison down, separating each of its elements in order to find an herb to neutralize them. I became absorbed in my job. The battle eventually ended, and the others came and set up camp around me.

Finally, after a few hours of grinding and mixing, the antidote was ready. I gently aroused Shikamaru to get him to drink it.

"Here. This'll make you feel better," I told him. Shikamaru quickly drank the antidote, and promptly passed out again. I sat back and wiped my brow. When I looked up, I realized that everyone was watching me.

"He's going to be fine," I told them. They all sighed in relief.

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Akarui," Temari said.

Naruto nodded. "Thanks," he said.

We slept there that night. I changed Shikamaru's bandages, and then went to bed.

"Goodnight, everyone," I yawned.

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight!"

"Hn."

"Goodnight."

"All right! Goodnight!"

**Author's Note: Thanks to Kairi-tenshii-x for reviewing! Don't forget to check out my other stories and my poll. **

**I would love your feedback! Reviews, favorites, and follows are greatly appreciated. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

My eyes snapped open. Judging by the position of the stars, it was to middle of the night. What had woken me?

I looked over at Shikamaru. The antidote seemed to be working. He seemed more relaxed, and the color was beginning to return to his face.

I noticed that Gaara wasn't in camp. He probably couldn't sleep and decided to take a walk.

I decided to take a walk as well. Now that I was awake, it would be a while before I could fall asleep again.

I got up and walked into the forest. I could hear the chirping of crickets, along with the occasional hoot of an owl. Everything seemed very peaceful.

I came to a small clearing. Inside was a stream, with willow trees standing guard over it.

I approached the stream. It had small silver fish swimming around in it. The moonlight reflected off of their scales beautifully.

I heard a twig snap. My head shot up in the direction of the sound. At first I couldn't see anything. Was it an animal?

Then I began to make out a red cloak, and red hair.

"Gaara?" I asked. I walked towards him. "You scared me."

"Sorry," he replied awkwardly.

Something was... off. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yes. I'm fine," Gaara turned to look at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I replied cautiously. He looked normal, but he was acting strange.

"Could you come a little closer?" he asked.

I slowly walked forward, until I was standing in front of him.

"What is it?" I inquired.

"Oh, nothing," he sighed. "Nothing at all."

Something definitely wasn't right. I placed my hand on the hilt of my kunai knife.

Suddenly, four ninja jumped down from the trees. Each wore a Sound Village headband and had a purple rope tied around their waist.

Gaara melted away, until the person standing in front of me was a man with pale skin and long black hair. His abnormally long tongue poked out of his mouth, and he licked his lips.

"Akarui," he hissed, "what a pleasure it is to meet you."

I narrowed my eyes. I recognized the man now. He was Orochimaru, the man who tricked our village into attacking the Leaf Village.

I raised my kunai knife. "What do you want with me?" I asked.

"Oh, you know. A bit of this and that. You are close friends with that host of the Shukaku, Gaara, are you not?"

My blood ran cold. "What do you want with Gaara?" I demanded.

"That, my precious girl, is none of your business." Orochimaru nodded to his four ninja. He stepped back as the ninja started to close in on me.

I instantly turned on my genjutsu. The world started to swirl around. My four attackers lost their balance and fell on their knees. As soon as they hit the ground, I took off through the trees.

Behind me, I could hear Orochimaru shouting. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked to four ninja. "Get up and follow her! We can't have her reach their camp."

I picked up speed. I needed to get help fast. I'm no good at fighting alone, and four against one were particularly bad odds.

I raced through the forest, with the enemy ninja not far behind. I hadn't realized how far away from camp I had wandered.

I gasped. I watched as a string of white goo flew over my head. It attached itself to two trees in front of me. Before I could slow down, I ran full-speed into it.

The stuff was sticky, but as hard as I tried, I couldn't break it. It was just like a huge spiderweb.

I heard running footsteps. The ninja had caught up to me.

"Not so fast now, are we?" one of the men smirked. Was it just my imagination, or did he have six arms?

I struggled, but there was no way I was getting out of this web anytime soon. That left only one option.

I took a deep breath. "GAARA!" I screamed as loud as I could. I knew he was awake, and if he was close, he might hear me.

"Shut her up, will you?" The girl ninja hissed. "He might actually hear her."

"Okay, okay," the biggest of the four said. He lumbered towards me. He raised a giant fist, and I felt a horrible pain in the back of my skull. Everything went dark.

Third Person POV

"GAARA!" The scream could be heard throughout half of the forest. Gaara's head shot up. It was Akarui.

He jumped to his feet and raced towards the spot where the cry for help had come from. He hoped he wouldn't be to late.

A few minutes later, Gaara came to two trees with an odd, torn-up net in between them. At the base of the net was a puddle of blood. Lying next to it was Akarui's headband.

Akarui was in trouble.

**Thanks for reading! Your support is appreciated. :)**


	7. Chapter 7

I woke up chained to what seemed like a metal pole. I was gagged and blindfolded, but I could tell that I was in dark room. Judging by the cold draft, it was a small room, possibly underground.

A nauseating pain shot through my skull. I silently screamed into my gag as the world tilted around me.

After what seemed like hours, the nausea slowly faded away, and I was able to breath normally again.

I tried to remember what had happened. There had been some ninja, and a spiderweb...

I winced. Thinking made my head hurt even worse. I probably had a concussion.

My memory slowly came back to me. Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, and I were on a mission... I had been on a walk when Orochimaru attacked me, with four of his Sound ninja. They trapped me in a spiderweb and knocked me out. But where was I now? Had anyone heard my cry for help?

I sat there, chained to the pole, for several hours. All I could hear was a ringing in my ears and the occasional drip of water.

I drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point, I thought I could hear two people talking, but I wasn't sure. Everything seemed so fuzzy.

After what felt like days of nothingness, I finally came to for good. I could clearly hear two sets of footsteps entering the room I was in.

"Remove her blindfold and gag," a voice rasped. The cloth was ripped from my face, and two men came into focus. The first was Orochimaru, who must have been the one to speak a moment ago. The second was a boy a few years older than me, with a silver ponytail and round-rimmed glasses.

"So this is her?" the boy asked.

"Yes," Orochimaru answered. "The friend of the Shukaku."

I studied my surroundings. I was indeed in a small room. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of the same dark gray rock. I must be underground.

One wall was a set of iron bars. I was in a prison chamber.

But where exactly was this underground room?

"Where am I?" I asked my captors.

"Why would we tell you that?" the boy sneered.

"Hush, Kabuto. Let's not be rude," Orochimaru said. "You're in one of my secret hideouts." he told me.

"Now," Orochimaru started, "we have some questions for you. First: what is your relationship with the jinchuriki, Gaara?"

"Why should I tell you?" I growled at him.

"Well, you see... I didn't want to have to do this... But..." Faster than my eyes could follow, two snakes shot out of Orochimaru's sleeve. They sank their fangs into each of my calves.

I screamed. Pain like fire shot up my legs, burning all the way up to my chest. The bites alone shouldn't have hurt so much. The snakes obviously had some kind of pain-inducing poison.

"Yes," Orochimaru hissed, "my little pets have some venom, similar to the venom in a bee sting. Painful, but it won't kill."

He leaned closer and lifted my chin, so I was forced to look into his eyes.

"I will ask you again," he hissed in my ear, "What do you know about the jinchuriki?"

"I'm not telling you anything," I spat at him.

"Suit yourself," Orochimaru smirked. Three more snakes emerged and bit my arms and side. I screamed.

I wasn't sure how much longer I would last.

Third Person POV

Gaara raced back to camp, Akarui's headband clutched in his hand.

He skidded to a halt. Everyone in camp was still sleeping soundly. Everyone was there. Except for Akarui.

"Kankuro! Kankuro!" Gaara shook his brother awake.

"Wha... Gaara... What is it?" Kankuro asked sleepily.

"Akarui's gone. I heard a scream, so I ran towards it. I only found this and some blood." Gaara showed him the headband.

"No. Not Akarui." Kankuro quickly got up. "We can prepare a search team. Maybe Temari's weasel can find a scent trail or something."

Gaara nodded.

**Thanks for reading!**

**I've been reading Quotev stories lately, and I saw that a lot of them would do bonus chapters when they got 100 favorites or something. So I've decided that I'm going to do the same thing, but every 5 favorites instead of every 100. So once you guys get up to 5 favorites, I'm going to post a bonus chapter!**

**i hope you're enjoying the story so far, it's getting really exciting!**


	8. Chapter 8

Orochimaru eventually left, and took his snakes with him. After a few hours, the venom eventually worked its way out of my system.

I looked up. Kabuto was still standing there, staring at me.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all," Kabuto smirked at me. He walked until he was standing right in front of me. He bent down until he was at my eye level.

"You're really cute, you know," he said. The dim light coming through the bars reflected on his glasses, making it impossible to see his eyes. I felt like edging away, but the chains around my torso restricted my movement.

Kabuto leaned closer, until his face was mere inches away from mine.

Suddenly, his lips crashed into mine. My eyes widened in surprise. I tried to pull away, but my head was against the pole, trapping me. I shuddered as his arms snaked around my waist.

My heart raced. What was going on? First he stood by and did nothing while I was tortured, and now he wants to make out?

Finally, Kabuto pulled away. He got up and walked towards the door, as if nothing had happened.

He stopped in the doorway. Kabuto turned around to look at me. "You know," he said, "Lord Orochimaru was going to kill you. But maybe I could convince him to keep you around. You may prove... useful to me, Akurui."

With that, Kabuto turned around and left the room, locking the door behind him.

For a few minutes, I just sat there in shock. I knew that I was probably going to die here, but... I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed. I had never admitted it to anyone, but I was kind of hoping my first kiss would be with Gaara... Not some creep who's master wanted me dead.

A single tear ran down my cheek.

Third Person POV

"Wha's goin' on guys?" Naruto yawned. He had his night cap on and looked half asleep.

Gaara and Kankuro looked up from where they had been talking.

"Akurui's been taken," Kankuro blurted out.

"WHAT?!" Naruto jumped to his feet. "WHO DID IT?"

"We don't know," Gaara answered.

Naruto's screaming had woken everyone up, and Gaara and Kankuro quickly filled them in.

Naruto turned to Negi. "Use your Beakugan!" Naruto urged him. "Maybe she's still in range!"

"Beakugan!" Negi said. His x-ray vision activated. He slowly turned in a circle, sensing for chakra. Nothing there, nothing there...

Sudden Negi could make out a lot of chakra. At least five or six people. He zoomed in on the spot.

Akurui was definitely there. She looked like she was unconscious. A large ninja was carrying her. He and the four other ninja were moving quickly, steadily growing farther away. In the lead was a particularly powerful ninja, with long, dark hair, and a snake-like face...

Negi froze. It couldn't be...

"What is it, Negi? What is it? You found her, didn't you?" Naruto said.

Negi shut his Beakugan off and faced his friends.

"I found her, all right. She's unconcious, with five other ninja. They're carrying her somewhere. But..." Negi hesitated. He didn't want to say it.

"But what, Negi? What is it?" Naruto shook him.

Negi shrugged Naruto off. "One of the ninja is... Orochimaru."

**Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out my poll and other stories. Reviews, favorites, and follows are greatly appreciated!**


	9. Chapter 9

My head shot up. I must have fallen asleep.

Orochimaru and Kabuto walked into my cell. I was filled withdread. No, I couldn't go through that again...

I sure am some ninja. A day and a half and they've already almost broken me.

However, Kabuto did something unexpected. He walked over and unlocked the chains that were wrapped around my body. I was free, sort of.

I immediately tried to stand. I almost did it, too. But right before I could straighten my knees, my skull erupted in pain. I collapsed. My vision was washed in red. I had almost forgotten about that stupid concussion.

"Oh no. That's not going to do," Orochimaru said. "Kabuto, could you patch her up a bit?"

"With pleasure," Kabuto answered. He did a few quick hand-signs that I recognized as medical ninjutsu. Blue energy emitted from his hand, which he held above my head. Slowly, the pain began to fade away, until all that was left was a dull throbbing.

"Follow me," Orochimaru ordered. He turned on his heel and left the cell. I had no choice but to follow.

We walked down a hallway lined with cells. All of them were empty.

"You'd better listen to Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto whispered in my ear. "If you value your life."

I cringed away from his closeness. What had happened a mere few hours ago had not yet left my mind.

"Ah, here we are," Orochimaru said. He walked into a room, with Kabuto and I following behind him. The door closed behind us of its own accord.

_That's not creepy at all_, I thought sarcastically.

We seemed to be inside an... operating room. I felt a chill go down my back. Inside the room were enough needles and scalpels to last a lifetime.

What was Orochimaru planning for me?

Third Person POV

"What should we do?" Naruto asked.

Nobody answered him.

The sun was just beginning rise. The clearing where they had set up camp slowly became lighter.

"We don't have time to go get help," Shikamaru said. He was sitting up, but the gash on his stomach made it harder to do much of anything else.

"We need to send out a team to pursue them," Negi said. "I'll go. I can use my Byakugan for tracking."

"I'm going as well," Gaara said. He clutched Akurui's headband tightly.

"Me too," Temari said.

"Alright," Negi said. "We need one more person."

"Me," Kakuro spoke up. "Akurui's like a little sister to me. I need to go."

"Then that's everyone," Naruto said. "Me and Sasuke can stay here with Shikamaru."

"Remember," Negi informed the team, "We're only tracking them. We will not attack until we have gathered enough information and them regrouped with Naruto's team."

The Sand Siblings nodded.

"Then let's go."

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

Third Person POV

Negi and the three Sand Ninja soared through the trees. After several hours, they were slowly catching up with Akurui's captors.

"Byakugan!" Negi said. He scanned ahead for the telltale signs of chakra. He found chakra, but he noticed something different. Its source had stopped moving. The ninja carrying Akurui seemed to have stopped, and were inside some kind of underground building. How long had it been since they went in there?

"Wait," Negi said. He and the Sand Siblings perched on a tree branch.

"What is it?" Temari asked.

"They've entered some sort of underground hideout," Negi said. He paused. "I think it's Orochimaru's secret hideout.

"What? We found it? Just like that?" Kakuro exclaimed.

Negi nodded. "I would usually say that we need to go get reinforcement, but..."

"But what?" Gaara asked.

Negi shook his head. "We don't have the time," he answered. "They're doing something to her."

"Then we need to get in there. Now." Kankuro punched the tree trunk next to him.

"We can't rush in," Temari cautioned. "It may be a trap."

"If it were a trap, why would they bother messing with her?" Gaara asked.

The group grew quiet.

"Whatever we're doing, we need to make a decision," Temari spoke up.

"I agree," Negi said.

"I think we should go after her," Kankuro said.

"Me too," Temari added. Gaara nodded.

"Then I guess it's decided," Negi said. "We're going in."

First Person POV

Before I knew it, Orochimaru and Kabuto had me stapled down to some sort of table. My body, still weak from torture, could hardly resist.

"Kabuto," Orochimaru said, "knock her out, will you?"

"Yes, my lord," Kabuto answered. He raised a needle full of an amber liquid. Kabuto stabbed it into my arm, and pushed the plunger.

I winced as the drug entered my system. A few seconds later, I was out.

After what seemed like hours of darkness, my mind entered into a dream.

_"Mother! Father!" I watched as a six-year-old version of myself called out for my dead parents. My mother had died from sickness, and my father took his own life shortly afterward. _

_They left me all alone. _

_I watched as the younger me stood there, sobbing. _

_A few months later, I realized that there was another like me. His mother was dead, and his father, the Kazekage, wanted him killed. He was all alone, too. _

_But I never worked up the courage to talk to him. I occasionally heard stories. I learned that his name was Gaara, and he had a monster inside of him. _

_"That boy is terrible. Stay away from him," my classmate's parents would tell them. _

_So I was all alone. And he was all alone. _

_Over time, I began talking to people. I made a few friends, but none of them really cared about me. I still felt... empty. _

_One day, I was running through the village. I wasn't looking where I was going, and soon enough, I ran straight into a wall of... sand? I looked up to see the the boy who was all alone. Gaara. _

_Gaara was with his team, his older brother and sister. We had all graduated from the Academy a short while ago. I had decided to follow the path of a medical ninja. _

_I quickly stood up. "Sorry," I mumbled. _

_The two older siblings, Temari and Kankuro, looked terrified. It was almost like they expected him to kill me or something. _

_"It's fine," Gaara coolly said. He turned on his heel and walked away, his siblings hurrying to catch up. _

_That was the first time I spoke to him. _

_When Gaara got back from the Chunin Exams, he seemed different. He and his siblings became the best of friends, and he began reaching out to other people. _

_I later decided I was going to do it. I was going to talk to the boy who used to be all alone. _

_I found Gaara out in the training field. He and his team had just finished for the day, and Gaara was the only one left on the field. _

_I quietly approached the spot where he was sitting. He seemed to be playing with his sand, watching as it formed shapes in midair and then fell to the ground. _

_I stopped next to him. Gaara looked up at me. _

_"Yes?" he asked. _

_I sat down next to him. "Can we be friends?" I blurted out. _

_He... smiled at me. "Sure," he said. My eyes widened in astonishment. I had a real friend. _

_"What's your name?" he asked me. _

_"Akurui," I answered. _

_"My name is Gaara."_

With that, my dream slowly dissolved, and I was plunged back into darkness.

**I hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to check of my other stories and my poll. **


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